Jolene Nagel was named the fifth head coach of the Duke University women’s volleyball program in 1999, after building strong records at Cornell University and Georgetown University. Over a long tenure in Durham, she elevated Duke into one of the elite volleyball programs on the East Coast. Her squads have achieved 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, including an ACC-record seven consecutive trips from 2005-11, and 14 of her 19 campaigns posted 20 or more wins. Nagel secured her 600th career victory on September 9 2017, becoming only the 22nd active Division I head coach at the time to hit that milestone. She is the winningest head coach in Duke volleyball history and ranks among the Atlantic Coast Conference’s leaders in winning percentage, ACC wins and NCAA tournament appearances.
Under Nagel’s leadership, Duke captured multiple ACC regular-season and tournament championships, developed numerous All-ACC and All-America players, and maintained exceptional academic performance—earning the AVCA Team Academic Award for six consecutive years, and placing multiple student-athletes on All-ACC Academic teams each year. Her coaching philosophy emphasizes high-level performance, academic excellence and the development of character in each athlete. Prior to Duke, Nagel coached at Cornell where she led the Big Red to their first Ivy League title in 1991, and at Georgetown where she guided the program to its first NCAA Tournament bid in 1998. She holds a bachelor’s degree in education from Edinboro University and a master’s degree in sports administration from Kent State University.
